Serendipity Lost
by Kei Tree
Summary: Ch 4 is up! A story of war, healing, but most importantly Lita, Nephrite, and a love that would not be denied. Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: *blinks sleepily* Morning... *huge yawn* Oh yeah...   
I don't own Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi does, rah rah. Please don't   
sue...  
  
PS- This is kind of an alternate relity fic, my first, yeah! So   
powers, ect will be different, along with titles and what not...  
  
  
*******************Serendipity Lost**************************8  
  
Teaser:  
~serendipity~: the accidental or unexpected discovery of something   
amazing  
  
***************************************************************  
  
~lost~: misplaced or strayed, missing  
  
A story of Lita and Nephrite and love that would not be denied.  
  
  
************************Chapter One***************************  
  
Nephrite frowned as he stood shillouted in the dank room's   
door. The shabby furniture was in pieces and the room's occupant, a   
single man who claimed ownership of this wreck of a once mighty   
mansion, lay flattened on the ground, the swords of Nephrite's elite   
soldiers pressed against his panting neck.  
  
"He won't talk?" he asked his captain, a dark man who managed   
to tower even over his own considerable height. Bernum shook his   
head, his thin lips compressed into an angry white line. A loud cry   
and shufflings brought his attention to the hall where two more of his   
guards wrestled with a plump, desperate woman who could have only been   
the stubborn man's wife.   
  
"Bring her!" he barked. Grabbing the peasant roughly on her   
arm he shoved her into the room while Bernum drew the man on the floor   
up by his hair to see who was brought in. As the woman started to sob   
Nephrite stared down his prisoner, cold blue eyes boring into his own   
frightened brown ones. Nephrite's sword slipped from his scabbard   
with a hiss and he casually pointed it at the weeping woman's neck.  
  
"Now that we have you attention," he all but purred, "let's   
get down to real business. The princesses, we know they were here but   
the real question is where are they now, hum? Are they hiding in one   
of the rooms upstairs," he nodded to the second floor, which alone   
would take hours to search because of this place's immense size, "or   
have they gone elsewhere?" The mansion had been through many hands   
and only recently, with the onslaught of the Earthen Empire's Army had   
it fallen into such ragged disrepair and the reputable hands of the   
peasant man and his wife. "I suggest you start giving me the answers   
we seek or things are going to get... messy."   
  
The man blanched but remained silent and oddly enough the   
woman, though still crying, did not plead for mercy or beg her husband   
to give him the information he sought. Sapphire eyes narrowed   
dangerously and he dropped the woman to stride up to his helpless   
prisoner. "Are you a fool?" he snapped. "I will kill her and you,   
slowly if I must, to get what I need. All you have to do is tell me   
where the princesses are and you will be set free. I give you my   
word." And then despite his terror, the man spat at Nephrite, rage  
glinting in his righteous eyes.  
  
"Free?" he asked, hysterical laughter filling the room while   
the guards watched on uneasily. "You'll have us in chains no matter   
what we do, the word of an Earth Man, or an Earth Soldier mean   
nothing! And we will not speak."  
  
"You sign your own death warrants," Nephrite whispered but the   
peasant smiled at the words.   
  
"Perhaps," he said simply. "As long as our princesses are   
free nothing else matters. The moment you catch them it won't matter   
because all hope will be gone forever. If my wife and I must die for   
the greater good then so be it. For them, for them we would gladly   
seek oblivion." Nephrite studied him coldly for a long moment before   
stepping away.  
  
"They're not here, he's stalling us. Shackle them and throw   
them with the others. Let's see where your precious princesses hide   
when all their people are in chains. Move out."  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Two hooded figures hurried through the small garden that led   
up to the quaint manor. Cloaked in gold and green they stood out in   
the gathering gloom that dusk brought. The fabric that clothed them   
was fine and had been beautiful once, now though it was frayed and   
damaged with the wear of hasty travel. The one in gold paused and   
knocked lightly on the great oaken door. The two huddled together   
under the arch that protected the old porch, their hoods drawn to   
obscure their faces. After several moments the door swung noiselessly   
open to reveal a tired looking young man.  
  
His slanted eyes studied them wordlessly before he sighed, his   
pointed ears twitching with anxiety. "I can't," he whispered at their  
silent pleading.  
  
"Please Alan," Mina said softly, coaxingly, "just until we can   
catch out breaths, please." His wary gaze flickered between their   
exhausted faces, torn, and they stiffened to receive the denial he had   
yet to speak which registered clearly on his handsome face but   
then he sagged in defeat, face downcast.  
  
"All right," he murmured worriedly, "all right. Sere..." he   
choked as he said the revered name, the mere mention of it proved to   
be enough to bring tears to Lita and Mina's eyes, "Serena would have   
wanted me to. She always gave so selflessly..." voice trembling with   
grief he stopped until he had composed himself. Another voice called   
from inside the house.  
  
"Alan, who is it?" a face similar to his peered around his   
greater bulk. Harried eyes widened with surprise, then shock.   
  
"I told them they could stay for a bit Ann, it isn't too much   
is it? For their memory at least?" Ann's gaze snapped close, face   
bitter before she looked at the two princesses again, features   
subdued.   
  
"No, nothing is too much for Endymion's memory, or Serena's,   
even if the love we held for them was never meant to be love lost,   
hope smashed, causes grief as well. But we can only offer refuge for   
a night, two at the most, for there are others who live here who we   
must think of also, servants and such. If we were found by the   
Earthen Men then so be it but it isn't fair to put others unknowingly   
into danger." Lita nodded in agreement.  
  
"No," she said sadly, "not fair at all." Mina laid a   
comforting hand on her arm but it did little to appease the shame in   
her troubled gaze.  
  
"Come," Ann said as she drew them into the manor, "before you   
are recognized." The siblings ushered them into the house where a   
maid promptly took their traveling gear and cloaks, all except for one  
bag that Lita clung to, refusing to relinquish it. The maid shrugged   
while Alan sent her a questioning look. Fighting the tears Lita   
opened the satchel to show three necklaces, the symbols of Neptune,   
Uranus, and Saturn on them.   
  
"We were at Neptune last," Mina said, gently breaking the   
oppressive silence. Ann frowned.  
  
"All of you...?" Mina nodded sadly.  
  
"Yes, the last time we were together, those of us left that   
is. After Uranus and Saturn were taken with Serenity, Serena, and   
Endymion we fled to Neptune. Mirchiru housed us as long as she   
could. The Earthen Army broke through their army's ranks, like they   
always do, and we had to scatter.   
  
An arrow took Mirchiru in the back as we fled..." Mina half   
sobbed at the memory before continuing, "Ami and Rei... We don't know   
where they are. Venus knows, maybe safe somewhere..."  
  
"Or if not safe than at peace, at least. I'm starting to   
think there isn't anywhere safe in this universe, anywhere where the   
people of Earth can't find us. I'm just so tired of running..."   
Lita's voice trailed off, her eyes haunted with the shadows of a woman   
who had seen too much suffering, too many people die. Alan swallowed   
before daring to interrupt in their inner reflection.  
  
"If you're hungry dinner is served around now or if you'd   
rather go rest I'm sure the maids will prepare your rooms..." Mina   
looked up brightly at the offer of food.  
  
"I'm starving!" she burst out, eyes lightening with the first   
happiness the siblings had seen since their strange guests had   
appeared. The golden haired princess looked to Lita eagerly.  
  
"It's been what, three, four days since our food ran out."   
Lita smiled grimly and shook her head, amused.  
  
"Try one drama queen but before that all we had was that hard   
bread." Mina scowled at the memory.  
  
"That was not food!!" The statement brought a weak chuckle   
from the other three and managed to banish some of the darkness that   
had crept into the room.  
  
"Go ahead Mina. I'm going to go up to my room if you all   
don't mind too terribly much. I don't care if it's clean; your maid   
shouldn't bother with it. A blanket on a hard floor would satisfy me   
now. Last night was spent under a bridge." Mina wrinkled her nose at   
Alan and Ann's looks of distaste.  
  
"It was worse than it sounds. Okay now, time for food!" At   
Mina's not so subtle urging they left after calling for another maid   
to show Lita to her room. The woman curtsied deeply before guiding   
her upstairs. Several minutes later they stopped in front of a plain   
door. The maid curtsied deeply again but her dark eyes were intent on   
Lita's face. Before Lita turned to go in her room the woman reached   
out hesitantly and grabbed her arm lightly.  
  
"Mam?" she asked, unsure. Lita bowed her head heavily for a   
moment, willing her strength to last just a little bit longer.  
  
"Yes..." A black gaze caught her emerald one.  
  
"It doesn't matter where you are or what them Earth people,   
bad folks, do to you, you and Princess Mina will always be our   
princesses, the people's, in our hearts." Lita's own heart warmed   
with the sentiment and those like it that had been shared with them.   
She had lost so much and yet, knowing that people all over the   
universe cared for them, mourned with them, it helped, oh Jupiter   
only knew it helped so much. To be that loved, that respected, it   
dazzled the mind, more than mere confusion and pain could.   
  
The Earthen Army ruled by force, by terror. The rest of the   
universe would bow to its power but it was because they knew it   
wouldn't last. 'The Earth Empire will rule gloriously for awhile but   
then, then it will collapse from within because its base support,   
peasants, farmers, its very heart is intent on poisoning it.' She   
thought, satisfaction making her grin, smile feral. Come hell or high   
water they'd pay for all the pain they'd caused.   
  
Unconsciously her hand went to the rose earrings she wore   
always, ever since that night... Her throat closed with unshed tears   
and she thanked the maid before slipping into the room and solitude.   
Lita closed the door and leaned up against it, gasping through her   
sobs as hot tears ran down her cheeks. Her other hand reached blindly   
under her ragged homespun dress to clutch at the necklace she wore.   
  
The sign of Jupiter pressed into her clenched fist along with   
another charm, a small umbrella. Memories flooded her, memories that   
she tried so hard to keep at bay but to no avail... Ken smiling   
handsomely in his officer uniform, saluting her with a grin that had   
melted colder hearts than hers. The awful explosion, the boiling   
smoke, the cries, and then that deathly silence that followed with the   
realization that they were gone, he was gone... Queen Serenity,   
Princess Serena, Prince Endymion, Princess Uranus, Princess Saturn,   
and Ken, her love, her lover, the other half of her soul. And Rose...   
  
More tears slipped from brimming jade colored eyes to join the   
ones already fallen as Lita sank to the floor, head in hands. So much   
lost and yet so much to live for. Revenge didn't fill her like love   
did but it accomplished its purpose. It kept her moving, kept her   
from giving up and joining those already gone beyond the petty   
struggles of this world. It kept her from letting go and it made her   
care. 'Oh yes,' she thought, bitter with unimagined pain, 'you'll all   
pay, that I swear.'  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Nephrite reined in his mount, a beautiful bay horse that   
snorted spiritedly. Cobalt eyes narrowed in speculation. "So your   
spy is really this good..." Bernum nodded sagely.   
  
"He's that good. He's been watching this house for weeks.   
Turns out the siblings that own this house both had things for   
Princess Serena and Prince Endymion. They'd be well known to the   
princesses, a likely choice for refuge." Bernum spat, unconcerned, as   
he awaited his commander's orders.   
  
"Two left, that's all we need to rule." Nephrite muttered to   
himself. All the other princesses were taken or disposed of.   
Princess Mercury and Princess Mars were prisoners, held by the   
sorceress, Beryl's, dark power in a state of immobilization. Both   
were wounded, mortally, and the moment the magic unfroze them they   
would most likely die of their wounds, several which had been self   
inflicted in an attempt to keep themselves from falling into the   
Earthen Empire's hands. But for now, and as long as Beryl could hold   
them, they lived, barely and that was enough to serve their purposes   
because as long as the Earthen Empire held two princesses hostage the   
universe would submit to them, for fear of their safety.  
  
Or it would submit when the last two princesses were captured,   
Princess Venus and Princess Jupiter. And the best spy in the Imperial   
Earth Army had intelligence reports that indicated that they were in   
this very house. Five years of war might be ended this night.   
  
He hoped he wouldn't have to kill them. If they were truly   
captured they would die eventually but he hoped he wouldn't have to   
have their blood on his hands. At least not Princess Jupiter's,   
Lita's blood. He had never seen the strong willed princess but he had   
heard stories, everyone had, and he knew what Rose told him, his wife,   
his soul, his living heart. They had married for peace, a political   
marriage that was supposed to make the universe and the grasping   
Earthen Empire one. But what started out as duty bloomed into a deep   
abiding love that had ended that tragic night, the night the war   
started anew, the night Rose's life ended.   
  
Rose hadn't been the only one to die that night. It had been   
an ambassador's trip to the Earth where the peace conference was   
suppose to take place that would draw up a formal treaty. The sky   
carriage's shields, sky carriages were magicked to carry people   
between the stars, failed on the return trip to the Moon. Rose had   
been with it so that she could visit Lita... It plummeted from the   
heavens to land in the middle of the Moon palace killing Rose, a   
noble from Jupiter, Princess Serena, princess of the Moon, her   
traitor husband, Prince Endymion, who had abandoned Earth for the   
Moon and his love long before a treaty had even been an option,   
Queen Serenity, ruler of the Moon, Princess Uranus, Princess   
Saturn, and Ken, a Jupiter guard who had been assigned to protect   
the envoy.   
  
All gone and with them any chance for a peaceful resolution.   
So be it. His thoughts trailed back to Princess Jupiter. She had   
been his wife's best friend from childhood. Despite the fact that   
Rose had only been a rather minor noble Lita and she had been raised   
as sisters, a kindness that Rose never forgot. He sincerely hope he   
would not have to be the one to slay the person his love had regarded   
as family but if he must, he would. He never shirked his duty, it had   
brought him love and now it brought the only fulfillment he knew.   
  
"Let's go," he finally said to Bernum. The soldier nodded and   
raised his sword to command the troops onward to the manor house.  
  
  
  
~Kei  
  
Author's Notes: So what did ya'll think? Like it? Hate it? Love me?   
Hate me? hehe Email me or review and tell me about it...   
inspiredthoughts@hotmail.com  
  
Oh and check out my web site..   
http://www.geocities.com/keitree 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I think I'm getting worse at these as time goes on...I   
think someone needs to write a web page on how to write disclaimers,   
funny ones... I mean sometimes I'm original but I always have to   
fight the urge to copy past weeks...LOL Oh yeah, the disclaimer,   
duh... I don't own SailorMoon, yeah to the creator Naoko Takeuchi and   
respective owners, please don't sue me cause I don't have money...   
Now if you'd like to give me some..hehe  
  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Two~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Lita was woken up from a deep dreamless slumber with the all   
too familiar sound of shattered glass and tortured screams. She   
snapped awake, fear pounding at her temples as she clutched the sheets   
to her still clothed form, intent on listening for more sounds.  
  
She shivered as she heard deep, gutteral, men's voices and a   
frightened woman's piercing the air of the two-storied house. More   
tears filled her eyes but she banished them quickly. She had to get   
out. With practiced ease of one who has made too many quick escapes   
she dashed lightly to her feet, grabbed the bag containing the   
necklaces, threw her cloak over herself and slipped out into the   
hall.  
  
Lita scanned for soldiers and tensed as she heard their heavy   
boots ringing out on the stone corridor. She looked and almost   
fainted with relief with the sight of an open window, linen curtains   
fluttering in the cold night's breeze. She ran to it and started to   
climb out onto the narrow ledge but paused, torn.  
  
Oh by Jupiter, she had lost so much. How could she leave Mina   
here; to capture, to pain, to death? But how could she not? On her   
rested the hopes and dreams of an entire captive universe. Their   
freedom gave others the strength to go on. Their open defiance of the   
Earthen Overlords inspired others to take up the fight for freedom.   
Duty came first; it always had and always would.   
  
"I'll see you in the place of light," she whispered   
feverently. "Should we fail then we'll join the others there."   
Decision made she climbed out onto the ledge. Lita looked down and   
blanched. Jupiter, she was high up.  
  
"Hay, you there, stop!" Without pausing to look back Lita   
took a deep breath and jumped. She bit her lip but couldn't help   
crying out as she landed on her ankle hard, twisting it terribly.   
  
"Stop!" The deep voice struck a cord within her and almost   
against her will Lita looked back. A strong man stood shillhouted in   
the window, shadow dark against the brightness of the hall but she   
would know him anywhere from Rose's descriptions. Piercing emerald   
clashed with flaming cerulean.   
  
"You can't run forever!" the voice of her dead best friend's   
life mate bellowed. Lita's gaze narrowed.  
  
"I don't have to," she called back, moved to answer the man   
she hated with more passion than she had thought she could muster   
though she had never met him until today. "Just until you die." She   
saw him start and saw his lips move to reply when more shouts sounding   
close to her made her realize his talk had only been a tactic to delay   
her until his men could find her.   
  
"You won't get me that easy you scum," she said furiously to   
herself and without another word turned and limped away into the   
overgrown garden, letting her green cloak camoflauge her.  
  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
  
Nephrite stared at the swiftly retreating back of the woman   
his soul mate had called sister. He had never seen her in person but   
Rose's stunning pictures were enough to easily let him identify her.   
But not even Rose's considerable talent had been able to capture those   
haughty green eyes, eyes that challenged him, that defied him and   
everything he stood for.  
  
Bernum came clambering up the stairs, breathing hard, a woman   
in tow. The lovely blonde hung limp in his massive arms, head   
dangling in a way to suggest that she had been knocked unconscious.   
Blood came from several cuts and slashes on her white, elegant arms,   
and a blue bruise was rapidly spreading across her delicate face. And   
even though she wasn't awake she gave off an aura of complete power.  
  
"Princess Venus," he asked, though it was more of a statement.   
Bernum nodded her burly head and opened a palm to reveal a dangling   
gold necklace with the symbol of Venus glinting dully on it.   
  
"Yes sir. She pit up a fight, the wildcat, two of my men have   
to get stitches." Nephrite raised one slender eyebrow in query.  
  
"And what weapon could that mere wisp of a woman wield?"   
Bernum shook his head and snorted.  
  
"This wisp of a woman had a butcher knife and knew damned well   
how to use it." Nephrite chuckled softly before allowing his gaze to   
be drawn back to the window and the gardens beyond.  
  
"And the other?" Bernum dared to prompt.   
  
"Gone," he answered absently. "For now at least but if this   
one is a wildcat Princess Jupiter is nothing less than a hellcat."   
  
"Should we send the men out?" Nephrite nodded.  
  
"Yes. I want her alive if possible..." Bernum started.  
  
"But Beryl said..." Nephrite leveled his man with a cold   
stare.  
  
"Beryl is a vengeful fanatic. We listen to her, but we are   
held accountable to no man save Emperor Sol. I want her alive like   
this one." He looked down at Princess Mina.   
  
"Take her to the Healers and put her in chains." Bernum   
nodded.  
  
"Aye Lord but..." his aid licked his lips, nervously, "but   
don't we want Beryl to put her in stasis?" Nephrite growled.  
  
"Beryl was given the others to be kept alive. This woman is   
reasonably healthy and is in no risk of immediate death. The people   
will be cowed all the quicker if they can hear their beloved   
princess's passionate pleads for mercy. She is of more use to us and   
the Emperor awake. I trust you have no more questions?" Bernum   
stuttered and backed away, the princess still in his arms.  
  
"None sir, none at all."   
  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
  
Lita gasped through pain as she stumbled yet again. Her heart   
thudding she fell to the cold wet grass and crawled under one huge   
rosebush. Its thorns ripped at her and her clothing and she bit her   
lip bloody to keep from crying out. She sniffled and curled into a   
ball as she tried to wipe away the tears that just kept coming.   
  
She stilled at the sound of men and tensed as they tramped by,   
their lanterns and torches casting a sickly red glow against the   
soothing darkness of night. The symbol of Jupiter pulsed hotly on her   
face and she hastened to cover it, her heart quickening as power   
poured through her tired body.  
  
She hugged herself as excitement filled her. Jupiter hadn't   
granted her power since... since Serena had died. And in that single   
instant, that terrible instant that had taken so many loved ones away   
from her, the comforting presence of her planet's spirit had left her   
and the other senshi. They had faced what was left of the world   
defenseless, open to attack, vulnerable. And it had appeared as if   
they would die that way, at the Earthen Empire's hands. As if they   
would die as the senshi who failed themselves and all the people who   
relied on them.  
  
Each generation had its own princesses, women born to protect   
and serve the people they ruled. Lita's mother had given her charge   
to her early for Melody, Queen of Jupiter, had died when Lita was   
four. Lita was raised among adults, in the court her father,   
heartbroken, no longer wished to rule, with only Rose as a constant   
companion. Then, seven years ago, when the Earthen Empire was first   
being checked by neighbors nervous of its bloodthirsty goals, the   
would be senshi and princesses were sent to the Moon, to train and   
form the traditional bonds of friendship. And Rose was sent to make a   
diplomatic match with a high ranking Earthen General.   
  
By all rights it should have been Serena sent to Earth, for   
the Moon Princess traditionally was the leader of the senshi, but it   
was too late. Four years before their deaths Serena and Endymion had   
met and married. Endymion had been branded a traitor and had escaped   
to the Moon. But after the Moon Jupiter ranked as the most important   
planet of the alliance that formed the Moon Kingdom. She should have   
married the man named Nephrite but no senshi married against her will   
and Lita, barely seventeen at the time of the proposed chance for   
peace, refused to consider such a bargain. Rose's family though was   
desperate for power and prestiege and after much deliberation with the   
diplomats of the Earthen Empire an agreement was made.  
  
It had calmed Lita during those two years to read the long   
letters Rose wrote to her, filled with first tentative friendship and   
then love for the man she was sent to marry. For two years Rose had   
that much happiness and Lita as well as she worked on the Moon and   
became one with the other scouts.   
  
She raked her hands through her tangled hair. Five years ago   
it had all changed though and there was no going back. And yet...   
Bruised fingers touched the burning symbol on her forehead.   
  
The senshi were gone but she remained. It was their goal,   
their duty, to protect, to save, to prevent death and encourage life.   
Didn't the Earthen Empire embody all that the senshi did not? For   
five years Lita and the other princesses had run, had been cut down,   
and though they represented defiance she had never before looked an   
Earthen general in the eye and spat at him.   
  
Had Jupiter abandoned her or simply waited until she could   
find her focus again? Was this power approval? Emerald eyes glowed   
bright in the darkness. Lita always loved a fight, especially now,   
when all was at stake. With the risks so high she couldn't, wouldn't   
mess up. She would gain the justice her friend's deaths cried for and   
free the universe, or in the words of all great heroes and heroines,   
die trying.   
  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
  
Mina pursed her lips and looked away from the penetrating eyes   
of the man named Nephrite. She heard him move closer and stiffened, a   
scowl on her lovely features which turned to a grimace of pain as the   
bruises that touched her pale skin blue and black stretched painfully.   
"Tell me." Mina ignored him and gazed out the barred window of her   
cell which overlooked a desolate earth. He grabbed one slender arm   
and she ripped away with surprising strength, fury blazing in her   
sapphire eyes. She paced away, her back to him as she resolutely   
stared at the wall, her chin high, body tensed like a tigress.  
  
"I could, I should kill where you stand," the General hissed   
through clenched teeth. Mina only snorted.  
  
"You think this is a game woman?" he snapped with acid as he   
went forward again to wrench the stubborn princess around to face him.   
Mina met his stern eyes as few had done before and turned away yet   
again, silent, cool, quiet in the face of guaranteed death.  
  
"Will you make me torture you?" Those stunningly vibrant   
eyes found his again.  
  
"You haven't stopped," she whispered. He stiffened at her   
words, her accusing eyes sending shock to his core. Sensing her   
advantage over him she suddenly advanced, silent wrath animating her   
face as a mask of fury as the golden chains that bound her delicate   
wrists jangled.  
  
"You think the death of my friends, the loss of my country   
isn't torture?" Mina shoved manacled hands in his surprised face.   
"You may bind me in gold General Nephrite," she hissed scathingly,   
"but these are still chains. Besides what would you have me tell   
you?"  
  
"Where the remaining princess is," he answered quickly and was   
even more put out by her equally quick return volley.   
  
"I don't know."  
  
"You're lying," he said softly but even as he spoke the words   
he say the falsity in them. They both knew, the princesses had been   
on the run for years and with a sinking feeling he realized that Alan   
and Ann were their last hope, their last shelter.   
  
Princess Lita of Jupiter was on her own but that made her all   
the more dangerous. She was alone, and desperate. Mina's mouth   
curled into a bitter smile as she backed away.   
  
"Aye Nephrite. You may have never met Lita before last night   
but you know her. You know her though Rose. There may only be one   
princess left but you'll need to be twice as smart and twice as fast   
if you ever wish to stand a hope of catching her."   
  
  
********************************************************************  
  
  
Lita breathed deeply as she stared into the old cracked   
mirror, a considered luxury. She touched her soft burnette hair   
before slowly reaching up and unbinding it from its customary   
pony-tail. A peasant woman, owner of the small cottage she was   
temporarily staying in, stood behind her, gray eyes wide.  
  
"Are you sure mistress?" Lita closed her eyes tightly and   
nodded.  
  
"Please," she whispered, "do it quick." The woman nodded and   
Lita closed her eyes tightly, her hands balled into fists as she bit   
her lip. There was a wisp of sound and then a release of weight.  
  
"Its done," the older woman said softly, her voice awed.   
Slowly Lita opened her eyes. One hand flew to cover her mouth as she   
stared at the stranger in the mirror as her waves of copper tresses   
lay at her feet. Her short hair, no longer pulled straight with the   
weight of the rest of it, curled into large loose ringlets that bobbed   
around her head, forming a burnished halo. Hesitantly she tugged at   
one lock as she fought back tears.  
  
The other woman shook her head. "It's no good mistress," she  
whispered. "You look different but you're still... You're still too   
proud. You shine like a star that calls to the rest of humanity."   
Lita grimaced and nodded before sighing. She collected herself for a   
moment and then changed.  
  
The image of a strong woman, tall, vibrant, strong vanished.   
The woman herself was still there but she was softer, more demure,   
eyes wide with a kind of frightened quietness, like a mouse,   
quivering, on the edge of flight, yet not fearful enough to be   
noticed. The peasant gaped as Lita's look of distaste grew.  
  
"I learned this in court," she murmured as she moved back to   
the mirror and turned from side to side. "When mother died father   
fell into despair. He ruled through his councilors but those rats   
couldn't agree on anything, except that every man was for himself.   
The only way I survived was by making sure I wasn't seen very often.   
After all I was only a child and a princess would have been a great   
tool they could have used to further themselves. Rose came when I was   
eight but even then she was younger than I... She was my friend but   
she couldn't protect me." Her hands went to stroke the earrings she   
wore.  
  
"When I turned thirteen father finally decided to start living   
again and I could stop trying to survive and just be myself. Maybe   
that's why... Maybe that's why I've been able to survive longer than   
the others... I've had practice hiding who and what I am."  
  
Drawn from her reflections Lita looked up and managed a small   
smile for the woman who was sheltering her. "Thank you again Tess. I   
shouldn't ask you to put yourself and family in danger... I promise   
I'll be gone soon..." The woman named Tess abruptly got over her awe   
and shuffled up to hug Lita, her manner more like an anxious mother   
hen.  
  
"Its nothing mistress," she said firmly enough to leave no   
doubt in Lita's mind of her sincerity. "My mother lived on Jupiter   
all her life. I was raised there and we both watched you grow. Then   
when I married Frank and we moved to Mercury we both fell in love with   
Princess Ami as well. When we heard what had happened... When they   
told us she had died..." Lita tensed as her mouth set in a grim   
line.  
  
"I'll believe she's dead when I hold her necklace in my hands,  
until then she and Rei are still alive to me." Tess frowned.   
  
"What necklace?" Lita entangled herself from the motherly   
embrace and went to the small bed where she had left her sack, in easy   
grabbing distance. She opened it so that Tess could see the golden   
necklaces that lay there.  
  
"Queen Serenity gave these to us the day before they left for   
the Earth to start peace negotiations. It was on the return voyage   
that the sky carriage crashed..." Lita held up two of the three   
necklaces, Uranus and Saturn's, fused as one. "This was in the   
wreckage. Ami and Rei, we don't know. Neptune, Michiru, she died   
trying to escape with us, may the planets bless her soul. Mina,"   
tears pooled in fathomless eyes, "Mina was with me until a month ago.   
Somehow they found out where we were hiding.... I can only pray that,   
that she doesn't suffer." Tess nodded gravely.  
  
"And Pluto? Has her planet been captured?" Lita shook her   
head.  
  
"Even Earth will steer clear of Pluto, at least for now...   
Setsuna cannot help us... She has duties that she cannot be freed   
from, even if it means our deaths...   
All the other planets are conquered though... at least in theory.   
There's no where left to hide where I can walk without being followed   
and having to wonder if there are spies, if I'm being stalked." Tess   
frowned.  
  
"They're looking for a princess mistress so you shall have to   
become the opposite. How about Lena, my orphaned niece from   
Jupiter... You've come here to work until you can get on your own two   
feet." Lita's eyes sparkled at the suggestion and she bit her lip.  
  
"But I couldn't," she whispered, "I can't ask you to put your   
family in even more danger..." Tess shushed her.  
  
"Nonsense. For you, for you mistress we would die." Overcome   
Lita, Lena, embraced the kind hearted older woman.  
  
"Enough," she said in a husky voice, "enough. I should be the   
one calling you mistress now, yes? And I can't, I won't stay   
forever... I've made promises to myself and to my people that I won't   
break. Earth won't rule forever and may the planets help me I mean to   
be the cause of their fall." Tess smiled through proud tears.  
  
"You will be mistress, Lena, you will be."  
  
**********************  
  
  
  
Author's Notes: I've actually been playing with this idea for awhile.   
I dunno how long this story will be but I like to keep two or three   
stories going at once so if I get bored with one I can go work on   
another and hopefully have *something* done! Please email or review!  
  
~Kei 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I've sunk to an all time low... *standard disclaimers   
apply*... *hangs head* I'm sorry! *wails* I'm so disclaimer   
uninspired... *sniffles* Forgive me...*waaahhh*  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Serendipity Lost~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter Three~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nephrite took a deep breath before slowly raising one hand to   
rap lightly on the thick oaken door. There was a long moment of   
silence before he heard the muffled call to come in and with a   
stubborn set to his jaw he entered.  
  
He closed the door softly behind him as he looked around   
Kunzite's study. His eyes took a minute to adjust to the low lighting   
provided by the dying flames in the fireplace before he found Kunzite,   
sitting in a high backed, unpadded chair, the sparsest piece of   
furniture in the plush room. He looked smaller in stature as he sat   
behind the great desk, and older as well. So much so that Nephrite   
stopped and stared, hesitating even more. Annoyance flickered briefly   
across his imperial features.  
  
He waved an impatient hand at Nephrite. "You've already   
bothered me, come in." Suddenly decided he strode forward and took a   
seat himself. His gaze flickered to the desk and felt his throat   
tighten. The smiling faces of five young men looked innocently back   
and he shivered. Drawn by his gaze Kunzite smiled bitterly, his   
silver eyes hardening to a shuttered granite.  
  
"We took that one year before Endymion left us... If only we   
knew then what we know now..."  
  
"Would it have made a difference to Endy?" Nephrite snapped,   
voice unforgiving. Silver turned molten and the older general turned   
away momentarily until he regained his composure. Nephrite winced.   
He hadn't meant to provoke him...  
  
Things used to be so much simpler, so much better between   
them. Emperor Sol and Prince Endymion were brothers. Sol was older   
by about ten years and had always been groomed to become King.   
Nephrite, Kunzite, and two others, Jadeite and Zoicite, were ranking   
nobles of impressive military backgrounds. They had come as young   
boys, picked to begin training at the palace as Prince Sol's personal   
guard. And something unexpected had happened. The Queen, almost past   
her childbearing years, had become pregnant and nine months later   
bore another child, a boy with jet black hair and blue eyes that could   
read someone's soul.  
  
And somehow, as Endymion, the child grew, he had became   
friends with them, the newly christened Earthen Generals. When the   
Queen had died several years later the country had mourned but the   
King, to be honest the King was pushed over the edge. In his madness   
he clasped onto an idea so bizarre... He wanted to rule the world.  
  
And he did, so much so that with his last breath he proclaimed   
Sol First Emperor of Earth. And Emperor Sol had made his father's   
quest his own with a zeal that sometimes even disturbed Nephrite. All   
in all the wars and turmoil that followed the King's wrath had   
little affect upon him or the other Generals. Their lands were   
already loyal to the King, there was no rampage there, or rapine.   
  
But the affect on Endymion had run much deeper. Endymion had   
served as diplomat and ambassador for the other kingdoms of Earth and   
had seen friends and lovers die on the blades of his father's men.   
When Sol assumed the throne he had thought the death would stop but   
the King's cause had become Sol's own, only he had broadened it.   
Where the King was mad Sol was ambitious. The world wasn't enough for   
him, he wanted the universe. And when he proclaimed his intentions   
and began to gather men the Moon Kingdom, who all the Earthen kingdoms   
formerly had an uneasy truce with, cut all ties with Earth.   
  
Sol wanted war but wasn't ready, yet. The Moon Kingdom was   
powerful then, it was made of every planet save Earth. Eager to play   
the diplomat he was at heart Endymion had traveled to the Moon as an   
official Earth ambassador. There wasn't war, not yet, but things were   
close. He never came back.  
  
He had fallen in love with the beautiful Princess Serena, heir   
to the Moon Kingdom. That had been nine long years ago. They had   
married. For two years there was uneasy peace and then, Rose had come   
to seal a pact with them and the Moon Kingdom. Two years later a   
formal treaty was to be drawn up. Negotiations had gone well. And on   
the return trip to the Moon they had all died. In that horrible,   
stupid accident. And Sol, eager, impatient, to achieve his   
aspirations which he saw slipping away with peace used it as an excuse   
to unleash all the forces he had secretly been gathering for four   
years.   
  
Five years after that Earth ruled the universe. And Sol's   
wife, a sorceress named Beryl, was carrying his child. Nephrite's jaw   
tightened. He hated how things were now. He hated Sol's   
blood-thirstiness. He hated Beryl and the terrible magic she wielded.   
He hated the child she carried that would be perverted and warped into   
its parents' twisted image. He hated the fact that the woman he loved   
was dead. He hated that Endy, one of his best friends in the world lay   
beside her. He hated the fact that thousands had died because of him   
and the cause he fought for. He hated that millions more would suffer.   
He hated that the blood of one innocent princess was on his hands,   
that two more lay in near death because of him, and that another would   
never see the light of day without chains on her wrists. That he was   
ordered to do the same to a fourth, a woman his wife called sister. A   
woman... a woman who would die before she lived in chains...   
  
He looked earnestly at Kunzite and the older general sighed as   
his features softened. "Damn it all," he said gruffly, "what is it?   
I didn't mean to snap..." Nephrite slumped lower in the chair, his   
face desperate.  
  
"Gods, I don't know what to do! How in all hells am I   
supposed to find this Princess Jupiter, Lita? Sol will have my life   
if I don't find her soon. She's all the remains between him and total   
subversion of the planets. There's still too many rebellions. People   
know she's free and they won't submit to us until all the princesses   
are subdued." Kunzite scowled.  
  
"I'm perfectly aware of that. You may be in charge of the   
princesses but I am in charge of converting the planets into good   
little Earth Colonies. Just as Jadeite is in charge of helping Sol   
rule Earth and Zoicite is in charge of attempting to conquer Pluto.   
Now what would you have me do? I can't find Princess Jupiter for   
you. I've already given you all my spies for your use and have my   
soldiers who are stationed at the planets listening for rumors."   
Nephrite shook his head.  
  
"Yes, I know, and I'm grateful. Its... sometimes I just find   
myself doubting everything we stand for... Don't you?" Kunzite   
growled, his hawkish features strained, before replying.  
  
"I know my duty and responsibilities Nephrite. I live by a   
code of honor that has been ingrained into me since I was just a boy.   
It doesn't matter what I think or feel, I've sworn vows that cannot,   
will not, be revoked." Kunzite looked away, full mouth tightening   
with pain.  
  
Nephrite massaged his temples. He told himself that duty was   
enough but why was there still a hole gaping within his breast?   
'Rose...'  
  
"Lita is my problem, I know, but there is something, someone   
you can help me with." Interest sparkled briefly in his eyes.   
Kunzite leaned back and eyed Nephrite speculatively.  
  
"And just who might this someone be?" Nephrite hid a grin.   
'Got him.'  
  
"Princess Venus, Mina. She doesn't know where Lita is, all   
the pity, but she herself represents an important step in totally   
subduing the colonies. Sol wants her to openly endorse Earth. I've   
tried talking to her because if she won't agree with persuasion Sol   
has ordered me to leave her to Beryl... Please try to convince her to   
help us Kunzite... I don't want another death on my hands, a death   
that could have been prevented. If Beryl gets her claws on her..."  
  
"Careful," Kunzite warned in a low voice. Beryl was not   
Empress but she still held power, over both them and Sol, to an   
extent. "What makes you think I will succeed where you didn't?"   
Neprhite sighed.  
  
"Because in her eyes I will forever be the murderer of her   
friends and family. Besides, you are our leader, as she leads the   
princesses." Kunzite snorted before nodding slightly.  
  
"I will try."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mina fingered her golden necklace as she closed her eyes. She   
hummed softly to herself, lost in memories. When she moved and her   
chains chimed in response she was brought back to the present, and   
reality. She cursed darkly, sapphire eyes gleaming with frustration   
and deeper, anger. "Venus," she whispered, longing in her voice. She   
missed her golden home... She missed her people, and most of all she   
missed the power of Venus. Her throat tightened.   
  
Since Serenity's death they hadn't been able to transform into   
warriors, since Serenity's death where once the warm glow of magic   
filled her there was only emptiness, and for the leader of the senshi   
that was aiken to death.  
  
'I failed. I failed my duties as leader and thousands have   
died because of it, because of me. I should have found some way to   
regain our powers but there was nothing... I even tried to reach   
Pluto.' She shivered. She had tried and failed, oh she had succeeded   
in seeing Pluto, Setsuna, but the older woman had been of no help.   
Well, not toally. The lost and desperate look in those somber   
burgandy eyes was all the answer she had needed. They were on their   
own. And she was trapped here, and had been for three months since   
her capture.  
  
A creak alerted to her prison opening and she stood fluidly to   
face the man who entered. Her mouth hardened. She never met Nephrite   
sitting. But the man in the doorway wasn't Nephrite, he was a   
stranger. She stepped back, surprised as the tall man entered.   
  
The first thing that struck her was his features, sharp,   
angular. White hair framed silver eyes that gleamed in the   
semidarkness of the room. A strong mouth was pursed sternly. He was   
tall, over six feet, several heads over her golden one, with the lithe   
grace of a mountain cat. He was slimmer in build than Nephrite but he   
was better defined, his muscles showing slightly under his gray   
uniform, a standard Earth Army issue. His stance was aggressive and   
she stiffened in response to it but she wasn't afraid. She feared no   
living man, not any more.  
  
His frank gaze studied her carelessly and she felt anger stir   
in response in the pit of her stomach. There was impatience there   
too, it was hid well but she was a princess, bred in lies, raised in   
intrigues. No other could see past masks like a princess. He nodded   
slightly and she crossed her arms, purposely making her chains rattle.   
One side of his mouth quirked in a small smile before the man bowed.  
  
"Forgive my intrusion... Lady." She noticed the slight pause   
and raised one golden eyebrow in query. Silver eyes darted to her   
sword roughened hands and she felt startled. Not many noticed details   
like that... "My name is General Kunzite of Earth. General Nephrite   
asked me to become your guide for your stay at the palace. His   
services are needed elsewhere and he cannot devote the attention to   
you that you deserve." Mina looked at him for a long moment before   
snorting and turning away.  
  
Kunzite's gaze narrowed. He had seen the slight tensing of   
her body at Nephrite's name. "Lady?" he asked in a polite tone,   
careful to keep emotional inflections out of his voice. She turned   
back to him, anger gleaming fully in her face.  
  
"Well done General Kunzite. Not many could have given so   
eloquent a speech without mentioning that my 'stay' at this 'palace'   
is imprisonment and that those 'duties' Nephrite is attending to is   
the capture and death of one of my dearest friends. Tell me oh   
honorable General of Earth, how do you sleep at night?" Silver and   
cerulean eyes locked, the silver flashing gray, the blue burning with   
intense cobalt light. One side of his mouth quirked upwards again,   
bitterness etched deeply in his features as he answered with another   
bow and stiff flourish.  
  
"Not well Lady, not well." Caught off guard by his caustic   
openess Mina smiled sardonically. She snorted once more, softly.  
  
"Not Lady," she corrected, "if your Emperor should have his   
way you may very well be the man who takes my life, either you or one   
of the others... I believe there can be more familarity with your   
murderer. After all Nephrite was never so formal. Call me Mina, or   
princess if you must, but not Lady. I haven't been a Lady in a long   
time."  
  
"I noticed." One strong hand reached out and caught her own.   
She flushed as he held it up in the light, examining it. "No Lady I   
know has the hands of a warrior." He released her and she stepped   
away, still embarassed. Her reaction amused him.  
  
"You said we should drop all pretenses, did you not? I take   
it Nephrite was not that informal." Her jaw set she answered, false   
brightness in her voice.  
  
"Actually he was less so. I have rarely been as ill treated   
since of late." Recognizing the heavy irony in her statement his   
mouth twitched.  
  
"I doubt that princess..." Mina's eyes grew cloudy.  
  
"So do I in fact..." Kunzite studied her. He had wanted to   
approach what they wanted directly. He had wanted to offer her a   
deal, corroperation or death but he sensed she wasn't ready. Instead   
he decided to bide his time, for now. Beryl could hurry Nephrite but   
only Sol could overturn Kunzite's order. His trust was absolute and   
more importantly, proven to the fickle Emperor of Earth, his loyalt had  
been too highly bought to let the witch Beryl command him like she did   
the others.  
  
"Well I have come to see to your comfort... What do you   
require of me?" Mina turned and waved at the sparse, ill lit room.  
  
"Some lace draperies and silk sheets and danishes..."  
  
"No Lady," he said forcefully, interrupting her sarcasm as he   
strode nearer to her, so close that he was looking her in the eyes,   
his steely ones clashing with her vibrant. She met him as an equal,   
rage sparkling in the pools of sapphire.  
  
"What I really want?"   
  
"Yes Lady."  
  
"I want to see my friends."   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lita, Lena, bowed her head and hurried past the guards, her   
back hunched over. She heard their racous laughter and tried not to   
stiffen as fury lit in her heart and ignited. 'I'm just a servant...   
Servants don't fight, they flee. Servants don't respond... Servants   
accept what ever fate their masters hand them.' Except her 'master'   
was no longer the kind hearted Tess. Lena tried to calm herself as   
she felt her hands tremble in response to her anger. Jupiter she   
itched for a sword, or just a good old brawl, either would suit her   
just fine.  
  
One man reached out to grab her and she deftly avoided him,   
unfortunately she lost her load of laundry and her 'master's' dress   
shirts went flying across the yard. She cursed roundly and dashed   
after them, taunted by still more laughter. She felt Jupiter's power   
rise briefly in her and she clenched her teeth.  
  
'Not yet,' she thought desperately. 'Save your power... I   
can't use it yet. I need to plan more, know more, before I can act.'   
She sensed distant agreement and the white hot magic that trilled   
through her veins suddenly vanished. She tried not to cry.   
  
Meanwhile she managed to gather up all of the shirts. Still   
keeping a wary eye on the men in the courtyard she edged back towards   
the kitchen entrance to Tess's house. Tess's house only Tess didn't   
live here any more, or her husband. Not since one month ago, when the   
Earthen soldiers had come. Lita ground her teeth together. Three   
months since Mina's capture and two months in this small border town   
of Mercury. In the one month before Earthen occupation Lita had made   
some headway. Apparently Tess, while not in charge or directly   
contacted, knew some rebels, people who were buried deep underground   
but who would do anything to overthrow the Earthen Empire. Lita had   
talked to some people, coaxed, and formed some hesitant plans. All of   
which had flown straight to hell when Earthen troops, alerted by the   
increased number of uprisings on Mercury and more specifically the   
surrounding countryside, had moved in.   
  
Most of the regular peasants had been shipped off in chains,   
as slaves for those colonies and people truly loyal to Earth and   
Emperor Sol. Those that aided in the enslavement effort by turning on   
their bretheren were allowed to remain. Tess and her husband, while   
hardly noble, were well off enough to convince the officers, with some   
heavy bribing, to let them take the first sky carriage to Jupiter,   
Lita would be with them of course. But of that the officers would   
have none.   
  
Tess's darling niece was poor and with the price the officers   
were asking for they could only afford two. Tess had tried to remain   
and let Lita escape with her spouse but Lita had put her foot down.   
Tess had done too much for her already, she wouldn't let her sacrafice   
her life needlessly. And in truth the officers would have been   
suspiscious had she forfeited her own fare in favor of Lita, or Lena,   
her orphaned cousin.   
  
As it was Tess had bargained with 'Governor' Pharl, the puppet   
Earth had installed in this province to keep order. For the rest of   
their savings Pharl had agreed to let Lita, Lena, become his   
housekeeper since his had recently retired at the age of fifty two.   
She wasn't a slave but she wasn't free. She wasn't fighting Earth but   
she was alive. She was also as frustrated as hell.   
  
Unconsciously her back straightened and her bearing became   
briefly, more proud. Emerald eyes flashed as she contemplated her   
unsatisfactory situation. With a sigh she entered the kitchen.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What do you think?" Governor Pharl asked the man standing   
next to him. Zoicite frowned as he watched the woman vanish into the   
house.  
  
"Perhaps," he murmured. "We shall see." Satisfied Pharl   
turned and left. Zoicite stared hard, mulling over what he had just   
seen. The woman Pharl employed as a housekeeper was obviously much   
more than that. What he wasn't sure. The way she avoided those   
guards spoke of a warrior's training, as did her grace in capturing   
the errant garments. Her walk, her presence bespoke of a Lady though,   
a noble mayhaps. Green eyes narrowed.   
  
"Perhaps, we shall see. I have legendary luck but somehow I   
doubt even I am that lucky... And yet..." His mouth curved into a   
secretive smile as he mused out loud, "Oh Nephrite would just die!"  
  
  
  
Author's Notes: Review?!! Please!!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Decided I'd slowly post the rest of this story. If you want it   
all now, and more fun new chapters to more fun new stories, visit my   
website,   
  
Oh, and a review or two would be nice. Please.   
*************** Serendipity Lost: Chapter 4 *********************  
Mina tried to mask all reaction but the pitiful sight of   
Mercury and Mars shattered her reserve. She gasped softly as one pale   
hand shot to her mouth, covering it. Tears filled sapphire eyes and   
she hastily blinked them away. They lay on two marble tables, bodies   
limp, eyes closed, a bluish light encasing them with a soft luminous   
glow that made their necklaces glint dully.   
  
She stumbled to their sides and stared, oblivious of Kunzite   
who stayed at the entrance to the small, dark, round chamber. Mina   
took one cold hand in each of her own, trembling. "Rei... Ami... Oh   
Venus, oh God what have I done?" Her head bent in sorrow, golden hair   
falling to obscure her face. She stayed that way for a moment before   
marshaling her inner strength and sitting up. She turned to Kunzite,   
face full of a fury he had never seen before, fury that rivaled the   
wrath of fallen kings, fury that made him, General of an army that had   
conquered the known Universe, take a step back.   
  
She gently dropped their hands and stood, fists clenched white   
at her sides, before advancing. "What have you done to them?" she   
asked, voice a dangerous whisper. The startled ice features smoothed   
into an unruffled mask  
  
"What my Emperor bade me to do, what my office required. They   
live." Mina raised one fist to his face as if to strike it, shaking.  
  
"They live?!" she cried. "They breathe. They do not live.   
For them, for them death would be better!"  
  
"And would you have me order Beryl to release them?" he asked   
in a low tone, urgent. Golden eyebrows raised.  
  
"Since when does Beryl take orders from you, General?" He   
ignored the barb and reached forward to grab her hand and pull it   
down.  
  
"Fine, would you have me ask her, ask Sol for their deaths?"   
Mina ripped away and turned to look at her friends, her still   
friends. She took a deep shuddering breath and crossed her arms   
tightly across her chest, rocking slightly in pain.  
  
A wall swung open to reveal a woman with blood colored hair   
and a low cut, velvet dress that bulged slightly at the stomach.  
  
"Yes child," the Sorceress Beryl said softly, rich voice   
seductive, "would you have him ask me for their deaths?" Kunzite   
stiffened at her appearance and cursed as Mina spun. Large eyes   
flickered from him to her and he read Mina's thoughts clearly. That   
this had all been a set up, a plan, that he had known that Beryl had   
been listening for the whole time. He watched the princess as she   
raised her chin high, pale face drawn, flushed, yet proud, oh how   
proud she was, and yet inside he sensed humility too, humility learned   
at far too great a price.   
  
Anger filled her face again but if anything it was more   
frightening than her white- hot rage. This anger burned steady and  
cold, demanding truth, seeking justice.   
  
" No. I ask for peace. I ask for mercy. I ask for honor. I   
ask for vows made to be maintained. I ask for freedom. But I ask a   
deaf man to listen and a blind woman to see. I ask the haughty to   
stoop low and the poor to reach high. I ask for a new order. I ask   
for a new life, another chance, a hope in this world of despair. I   
ask for this with all of my heart but I know there will be only pain   
as an answer. To all I ask you mock me with pain. So be it.   
  
You want me as an ally; I see that now. You thought to use   
Rei and Ami as bait but they're beyond my help as I am. I used to be   
a Healer before that was taken from me too. I won't ask for their   
deaths because that would indebt me to you. Do your worst but I'll   
die condemning you and yours until the day your hands snuff my life   
out or until you have me join them there." She waved to the tables   
and turned to go back to her chambers, sickened by the people who now   
ruled the universe, but Kunzite blocked her exit.  
  
"Let me go," she whispered, deflated of passion, looking   
tired, small beyond belief. The anger lingered still but it was   
subdued, for now, and replaced by a soul wrenching weariness he knew   
himself all to well. Beryl watched her with dancing eyes and Kunzite   
sighed as the woman nodded to him. 'Damn it all, not now!'  
  
"No Lady. You have an audience with Emperor Sol." He   
responded quietly to Beryl's cue. Sapphires flickered and her mouth   
pursed.  
  
"No General. I will have no audience with that man and I am   
no Lady." She spat. "Let me pass." She tried to move forward and he   
sidestepped to fill the doorway fully.  
  
"I'm sorry Lady but you will be escorted to the Throne Room   
now." Mina looked up at him, entreaty plain. "I'm sorry Lady," he   
added in a gentler tone. Wrath swirled her eyes a deep cobalt.  
  
"Move now."  
  
"No."  
  
Her gaze narrowed as their eyes locked. His pity dissipated   
as they squared off. Blue to gray, cerulean to silver. Unnoticed by   
either her form slowly blurred as golden light moved to fill her.   
Beryl, alarmed yet curious, put one clawed, protective, hand over her   
stomach and backed up as she watched intently, gathering her own   
power. Kunzite though was still oblivious, lost in a contest of   
wills, as was Mina, elsewise she would have known the magic that   
touched her for what it was, and rejoiced.  
  
"Move."  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes!" At the last the light exploded and the symbol of Venus   
shone like a beacon on her forehead. As she felt her form melt Mina   
instinctly walked through him. Almost instantly the power faded as   
her essence returned and she solidified with a surprised gasp. She   
only had time to wonder at it before Beryl lashed out and smothered   
her tight in a web of dark magic, face grim.  
  
Kunzite whirled to face the Sorceress. "What in all hells was   
that?" Beryl shook her head, prespiration shining on her forehead and   
she studied the now unconscious princess.  
  
"Magic," she replied, voice short.  
  
"They have no magic," he responded. "If they had magic like   
that then they have just been playing with us all that time... With   
magic like that she could have escaped any time. With magic like that   
our armies would have been nigh near defenseless! Don't you dare tell   
me they have magic!" Beryl winced as she wrestled with powers she had   
never before seen and could barely control.  
  
"Don't you dare tell me they don't! Now silence!" Kunzite   
moved to protest but thought better of it. He knew the complexities   
of spells and while he cared naught for Beryl she carried his   
Emperor's child.   
  
Tension built in the silent room, broken only by Mina who   
gasped occasionally as Beryl's power gripped her tighter. Kunzite   
clenched his jaw until at last there was relief, as if the entire room   
heaved a sigh, and released. Beryl opened wearied eyes and Kunzite   
moved to catch her as she swayed and fell.  
  
"Fetch Sol," she whispered. "We need Zoicite. I have the   
power but he has the knowledge..."  
  
"And the girl?" Beryl grimaced, her haughtiness destroyed by   
what she had seen today.  
  
"For now I have her but the control is uncertain at best."  
  
"And if she broke free with her magic at full strength?" he   
asked in a low voice, still doubting, but made to believe. Beryl was   
a witch but she was no actress, her weariness was unfeigned and she,   
mistress of darkness, was not easily tired.  
  
"Then may she grant us the mercy we never showed them."  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Mina writhed in a prison of darkness but she was far from   
helpless. Unconscious she none the less fought, fought with the power   
of Venus, with golden light that filled her, rejuvinated her, renewed   
her, burnt away her terror and replaced it with a calm serenity.   
Serendipity.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Zoicite watched the woman Pharl named as Lena through half   
lidded eyes as she served them dinner. Too good to be true, and yet,   
too good not to be. He blinked lazily as Pahrl took more than a fair   
portion of dinner and heaped it onto his plate unselfconsciously.   
Zoicite waved her away as she turned to offer him one of the dishes   
and he watched as she walked away.  
  
Now she was the perfect image of a housekeeper, demure,   
unobtrusive, with just the right touch of obnoxious curiosity that all   
housekeepers seemed to have. She averted her eyes and offered food   
with impeccable manners but... She held the trays stiffly, as if not   
used to carrying them, and he noticed her hands were hardened like   
that of a fighter. And sometimes, not often, but in rare moments he   
saw her stance shift, from that of a peasant to something, someone,   
much more. His green eyes narrowed speculatively as he sat straighter   
to address Pharl.  
  
"Pity that I couldn't speak to Princess Mercury. People say   
she was as interested in magic as I am." His lips curled into a   
satisfied sneer as Lena abruptly stiffened at the mention of the   
princess. Pharl, oblivious to the game, played unwittingly   
along.  
  
"Princess Mercury?" he rumbled. "Ami, Princess of Mercury.   
Yes I recall some stories of her. I take it she's dead now?"   
Zoicite sniffed, unconcerned.  
  
"Girl," he ordered, "I believe I would like some of that dish   
after all." Slowly, obediantly, Lena turned and he hid a smile of   
supreme satisfaction. He wanted to observe her face. Now, it was   
hooded, unrevealing, yet her form was tensed lightly, ready to spring   
forward with coiled energy.  
  
"Actually, she lives, not for long, but she lives. Oh I doubt   
she wants to but she has little say in the matter. When we caught her   
and the firecracker, Princess Mars, we wanted them whole, unharmed,   
perfect blackmail fodder. They had other ideas. When they realized   
it was hopeless they tried to deny us even in that by inflicting   
wounds to take their own lives.   
  
They were fast but we were faster. Our resident Sorceress,   
Beryl, caught them in an energy field and held them stable. And so   
they remain, frozen with mortal wounds. They'll catch up with them   
sooner of later but not before we use them to our advantage. Even   
near death our holding them gives us power over the population of   
other planets.  
  
Some day we'll use that trump card on Mars and Mercury,   
probably soon if Mercury continues to rebel as it has. Then we'll   
release them to the darkness that birthed them for we'll have no use   
for them after that." He watched Lena as she served him. 'Damn!' he   
thought in a kind of admiring exasperation, 'she didn't so much as   
blink!' And yet... He sensed a mystery and his job was to unravel   
life's mysteries. A sudden idea struck him and he grinned before   
turning to Pharl.  
  
*******************************************************************  
Lita ground her teeth as she served the thrice be damned man   
dinner. As his cold green eyes slid away from her she refrained from   
letting a sigh of relief out. The way he watched her... It wasn't   
like a nobleman watching a servant or like a man watching a woman, it   
was that but there was an intensity too... He saw, not past her   
disguise, but he saw that she had one. He sensed that and she knew it   
with instincts that, had she not been a princess, a senshi, would have   
made her a fine diplomat.  
  
The comments about Ami and Rei had cinched it. He was baiting   
her and he wanted her to step into his trap. He suspected her. Her   
hands clenched tight around the plate, until her knuckles showed   
white.   
  
"Pharl," he said in a silky cool voice that grated on her   
nerves and raised imaginary hackles. "In my travels I often have need   
of a secretary. I don't have the time to document all of my findings   
and frankly the more tedious labor isn't suited to me at all. I   
wonder, do you know of someone, a slave perhaps, that I could take   
with me. You'd be handsomely compensated for your trouble of   
course..." Lita's heart quickened within her breast and she   
unconsciously shifted into a wide legged battle stance.  
  
"Girl," he ordered arrogantly as he turned to her, emerald   
eyes lighting up with interest again.  
  
"Can you read and write? Remember that it's treasonous to lie  
to a General." She paused, about to reply that of course she couldn't   
read or write, few peasants could, but bit back the words.   
  
An outright lie he could see through but a partial lie?  
  
"Girl," he barked, voice commanding. "I'm waiting..." She   
forced her expression into submissiveness.  
  
"I can read and write a little," Lita replied in a soft,   
barely audible voice. It was perfectly okay, even expected, to be   
nosy but it was best not show superiority in front of 'masters'.   
"Father didn't want me to learn but when I insisted he allowed it."  
  
"Really?" he remarked. "You do know that it's treasonous to   
lie to me?" Annoyed by the game she was about to snap that it wasn't   
treasonous to lie to a mere General. It was treasonous to lie to an   
Emperor, or a King, or a Queen, but no others.  
  
Then she cursed mentally. She had almost fallen for it. Damn   
her glib tongue! No peasant would know the finer technicalities that   
came with rank, and none would truly care. "Yes General," she   
murmured, "I know and I'm not lying."  
  
Zoicite leaned back and studied her. "You know Pharl, your   
housekeeper might be just the person I need." Pharl abruptly   
spluttered.  
  
"Zoicite! Why her?" The younger man sent an unconcerned look   
in his host's direction.  
  
"Why not? Well girl, how about it? You'd get to see the   
Universe..."  
  
"How about what sir?" she responded in a small voice that   
reeked with meekness. Green eyes flashed and locked with hers and she   
bit back triumph. Where before there had been asuredness now there   
was hesitation. She read it there. Before he had been sure she was   
hiding something, now though...  
  
His face registered coldness. "Would you like to be my   
secretary?" Lita frowned faintly, masking stronger emotions that rose   
in response to his proposal.   
  
"But sir, you said you need a slave and I am no slave. A   
servant mayhaps but no slave." The man shrugged.  
  
"There's little difference, is there? Your master still   
commands your life, or your death. Free in name, bonded in truth, or   
bonded in both name and truth, no real difference." The sharpness in   
his voice commanded her not to reply but she drew herself up anyway,   
ignoring the inner voice screaming caution at her.  
  
"Excuse me sir but there is a very large difference. I will   
never bear chains on my wrists or a collar around my neck. If I do I   
will be wearing them unjustly. My forefathers were free and my   
children will be. Perhaps in nothing more than name but there is   
power in names.  
  
I fear I must decline your offer. My aunt came to an   
understanding with the good Governor. If she and my uncle ever   
return I wish them able to find me." Zoicite rose and to her inner   
delight he had to tip his head back the slightest bit to stare her   
straight in the eyes.  
  
"I fear girl, that you have no choice. I want you as my   
secretary and I always get what I want." Forgetting herself Lita   
curled her upper lip in disgust at the total arrogance that man had.  
  
"You've yet to get Pluto General." Pharl choked and Zoicite   
reached up like lightning to slap her across her face. More surprised   
than hurt she rocked back on her heels.  
  
"Learn your place girl and learn it fast else you truly shall   
be a slave." 


End file.
